X Hippeastrelia is a hybrid between a Hippeastrum (nobody knows which one it was) and a small, less well known bulb called Sprekelia formosissima or Jacobean lily. This lovely hybrid is unusual in that it manages to carry the best traits of both its parents, without any of the negatives. The colour is wonderful and deep with a velvety texture to the flowers, and they are longer lasting than Sprekelia. Two flowers to a stem, rather than one from Sprekelia, a good size compared to the size of the bulb. Here's a gratuitous side view of the bloom.
The blooms are absolutely dripping with nectar, have to be careful where I put it.
Seems an easy grower, the hardest part of its culture is finding them in the first place, my plant came from eBay. It is reputed to multiply fast (much like the Klister varieties which will be discussed in a full length post I'm working on) but this has only produced one offset so far. It is potted in my standard houseplant potting mix and grown temporarily under lights. Mostly I try to grow Hippeastrum under natural light, but when the plants put up flower scapes during winter they tend to stretch to the light, no matter how much I turn them, and get unnecessarily tall.
I have had this plant of over a year, so I'm not sure what the bloom trigger here is but it didn't flower immediately on planting like a lot of Hippeastrum do. I did read about Sprekelia that it takes time for it to settle down after disturbance, so maybe this trait has been passed along to the hybrid.
In other news, a package of new bulbs from Royal Colors arrived today that I'd ordered back in November. I ordered six varieties (Hercules, Daphne, Picotee, Bogota, Gervase and Double Delight), two of which (Hercules and Double delight) are jumbo sized bulbs. Pictured below is Hercules, with my mostly obscured hand for scale.
Once again, I'm impressed with the quality of the bulbs, and can't wait to get them into bloom, though it will be in the new year, as I have the last lot coming up to bloom at the moment.
I would have rushed to get some this year,but found that we were both overwhelmed by the pollen, and got itchy eyes...No itchy eyes looks at your great pictures though! Love the angle that it holds its blooms.
ReplyDeleteHi,
DeleteThe pollen on Hippeastrum isn't airborne, it is far too heavy. If it does affect you, you can remove the anthers as the flowers open, they pull away easily and if you do it just past bud stage they won't have even released their pollen yet. Some growers do this if they want to produce seeds, others do it to prevent the pollen marking the petals. It is also reputed to make the flowers last longer, but I can't swear to that.